It’s been a busy and exciting month of awards and celebrations in the city, and now I imagine things will start getting even busier for many businesses as they hit the Christmas countdown.

In among last month’s many celebrations, I also spent a particularly thought-provoking Remembrance Day at York Minster. And, a century on from the outbreak of war in 1914, I made a discovery.

I knew that the Minster’s Five Sisters window was dedicated to the women of the British Empire who lost their lives in active service during the First World War.

What I didn’t know, however, was that a short distance from that remarkable window there is a wooden screen that lists all of the women in the commonwealth, by name, who lost their lives during the war.

Seeing that list made me stop and think of all the women who stepped into the breach to take on work, which - until that point - was the sole preserve of men.

Some say that the Great War was a watershed for women in Britain; others say that the development of women’s political and economic rights was far more complex. Whatever your view, discussion and debate about the role of women in business still takes place 100 years on.

At this year’s Trust Women Conference in London, global speakers were still arguing for, alongside basic human rights, the need to give women economic equality.

In many countries this means access to land rights, bank accounts and financial support (most women can’t get bank loans for business start-ups). In this country, we are highlighting issues of gender pay gaps, poor representation on boards, workplace bullying and break-proof glass ceilings.

In York we are fortunate to have many female role models in both the private and public sectors, who support the economic development of the city but also ensure that they put something back into the local community, blazing a trail for the next generation of enterprising young women - and men.

As we look forward to 2015, I think the vibrant and inclusive York business community is a fitting tribute to the brave and inspirational women who started us on this path a century ago but, as always, there is still more to do.